Hairballs??

Okay. Of of my cats, Nacho, has been throwing up, or having hairballs.. the vet gave us this, malt type stuff to put on his tongue for him to eat.. which he hates and I have to fight with him to take it. But its still not working, hes throwing up/having a hairball everyday .. and my concern is, that because he's not bring up hair everytime, that its going to get stuck somewhere and him choke or something equally as bad. I just don't know what to do anymore.

If he would stop licking all the other cats in the house, he woulnd't have so many I figure.. all the other cats have never had a problem with hairballs at all.

Anyway.. any help for anything will be greatly appreciated.. like how to give it to him that doesn't put him through stress and anything else that might work.

Sophie coughed up a small one on sunday as well

Try smearing the paste on his paws because Rosie wouldn't take it orally either so the vet told me to do that and they lick it off that way.

Do you groom your cats?. I started brushing mine a few month ago and was shocked at the amount of fur that was in the brush because it made me realise then just what they were swallowing

I also buy them treats with "Fur Ball Control" in them.

Okay.. I will try doing that. I used to brush the cats all the time.. but after awhile I stopped as some of them didn't like it at all and would swipe and bite at me.

We did buy a bag of hairball formula cat food to mix in with their regular food.. but it doesn't seem to be working either.

Sophie would prefer not to be brushed but i try and be sneaky by doing it gently when she's asleep

But i would certainly say by putting it on his paws that this will help and then he can pass it in his litterbox.

Hey there,

Try LAXATONE. You can buy it from your Vet for around $8.

I had to take my cat, Snickers to the Vet this weekend for an emergency fluid injection. He puked up a hairball at 3am Saturday morning that was as big as my forearm!!! AND he lost a LOT of water while trying to bring up the hairball!!!!

Poor Snicky has been through a lot, but anyway he was VERY lethargic Saturday morning due to vomiting and that hairball must have really done him in (he's got long flowy hair and he is what my Vet calls "An Excessive Groomer"... always licking himself and always making himself beautiful)....

Well anyway after they gave him fluids and checked him all over for other stuff, gave him the OK, they gave me the Laxatone (Well I bought it).

Laxatone is kind of sweet flavored, like molasses? And oh MY does he LOVE it! !!!! You just rub about an inch's worth, it's in a tube, on their front paw, really rub it into the fur -- and the cat will lick it off. Snickers even begs for more! This morning after putting the Laxatone on his paw, he licked it off and was meowing for more!

Also re: brushing, have you tried the Zoom Groom? It's a rubber brush -- it's very sooth and soft. It catches hair VERY well. My cats beg to be brushed. No kidding, all I have to do is say BRUSH and hold up the Zoom Groom and they all come running.

I know even with brushing, it's hard to get all the loose fur, and your cat will still swallow the fur. That's why you need something they will love to eat. I have heard of that malt flavored stuff, and most cats do not like it. That's why my Vet gave Snicky the molasses/sweet stuff.

Good Luck with the hairballs, and ask your vet about that stuff. It's brown, thick, and comes in a tube.

put some on a cracker and eat it in front of yer cat, he/she will then get jealous and want to eat it

I am going to see if I can get a rie up to the vets to get some of that Laxatone. We used it for the cats at the shelter I used to volunteer for.. I can't remember much about it other than the name.

Thanks guys for all the help =)

Laxatone is the one i use as well, and it's brilliant!

Yah re: Laxatone, I was totally skeptical because Snickers is a picky little booger. I imagined me putting that brown sticky stuff on his paw and him wiping it off all over the walls, sofa, my shoes, etc. in disdain... but NO, he LOVES IT. I swear he was begging this morning! He looked at the prescription box and was nudging it with his face!

And I think $8 is totally great, it looks like it'll last fer a while. Considering what it cost to get him rehydrated after that foot-long hairball, I'm going to keep on buying Laxatone.

Maybe you can find it online?